'Obama is a lame duck': Gorbachev comments after G20

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to a question at a news conference at the end of the G20 summit in Brisbane November 16, 2014. (Reuters / Jason Reed ) / Reuters

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has called the US president a 'lame duck.' Commenting on the recent G20 summit in Australia, Gorbachev said he was disappointed in Obama and that he 'thought better' of the American leader.

"Obama is a lame duck. One must not finish the job in such a
mediocre way. He just decided to throw accusations around. He
will be of no avail any more, unfortunately. I've thought better
of him," the former leader of the USSR told Rusnovosti
radio.

Gorbachev, who is praised around the world as a great advocate of
democracy, used the American term - meaning an elected official,
approaching the end of his time in office - when talking about
Obama's comments at the G20 summit.

Speaking in Brisbane last week, where world leaders gathered for
the summit, Obama once again put Russia on the list of the
greatest threats to the world - along with the Islamic State
militants (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and the Ebola outbreak. It
wasn't the first time the US president lumped Russia in with the
Islamic terrorists and the deadly virus.

Gorbachev had previously expressed hope that shared challenges,
such as the Ebola epidemic and the fight against the IS
militants, as well as environmental and economic threats, would
bring Russia and the West closer together. "In the face of
shared challenges, we can again find a common language. It won't
be easy but there is no other way," Gorbachev told Rossiyskaya Gazeta ahead of
the fall of the Berlin Wall anniversary.

He later became less optimistic, saying Western policies towards
Russia championed by Washington have led to the current crisis.

At the latest Group of 20 summit, the usual focus on the world
economy drifted to politics, with the crisis in Ukraine becoming
one of the most discussed issues.

Concluding the meetings at a press conference, Obama did not
announce any significant changes in approach to Russia and
described his exchanges with Putin on the summit's sidelines as
"businesslike and blunt." Putin, who was not present at
the Sunday gatherings, citing a long flight home and having to be
back in Moscow for work on Monday morning, said he was pleased
with both the results and atmosphere of G20.

Gorbachev's "lame duck" label was not the only duck jibe
to be received by Obama after his speeches at the summit. US
liberal senator Ian Macdonald called him a "lame duck of a
president" over his stance on climate change.

Former US president Bill Clinton recently encouraged Obama to
ignore the "lame duck" comments and get on with the job.